School closed to most students from end of day on Friday 20 March 2020

Published on 19/03/20

The following message from our Principal, Mrs Jones, has been sent to all parents today (19 March 2020):

Dear parent/carer,

Following on from my last update, I’m now writing to let you know that we have now been instructed to close the school to almost all children after this Friday until further notice.

Please read all of this letter as it contains important information about our future plans.

Children who can still attend school

As advised by the government, we will do all we can to stay open for the children of key workers (e.g. NHS staff, police, others in frontline services) and children with certain needs.

We are waiting for the government to publish more information on what this means but the latest advice includes the following examples:

Children of key workers, such as NHS staff, police and supermarket delivery drivers, who need to be able to go to work to support the country’s fight to tackle coronavirus.

Vulnerable children who have a social worker.

Children who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).

Please note that this list may expand, as we receive further guidance. We will update you as soon as we have this.

The government has also asked schools to be open during the Easter holiday. Once we know how many students need this service, we can assess whether this is possible.

We need to make plans for the level of service to provide in the coming weeks, so please let us know if you will be sending your child to school.

If you think your child falls into one of the above categories please email: attendance@hopevalley.derbyshire.sch.uk or, if you can’t access email, call the main school number on 01433 620555 and select student absence from the main menu. Please provide the following information:

Your child’s name and class.

The reason for them attending school, e.g. if you are key worker (please provide your job title); child has social worker; child has EHCP.

Whether you need this service during the Easter holiday.

We will then send you further information before the end of the week about arrangements for next week.

Arrangements for the rest of this week

Attendance

We are still responsible for the safety of all our students, so if you are not sending your child in this week please inform us as usual.

You can do this by calling the main school number 01433 620555 and select option 3.

We will continue to monitor student and staff levels and will inform you if we have to shut to certain year groups before the end of Friday.

On Friday school will end at the normal time.

Support for students in school

We will be talking to students in school today and tomorrow, reassuring them about how we will still be supporting them during the closure.

What we will do during the closure

Support for students receiving Free School Meals

The government has said:

“To support children eligible for free school meals, schools will be able to purchase meals or vouchers for supermarkets or local shops.

The government has also confirmed that the total value of vouchers offered to each eligible child per week will exceed the rate it pays to schools for free school meals, recognising that families will not be buying food in bulk and may therefore incur higher costs. The final amounts will be confirmed shortly.

Effective immediately, schools will be able to order vouchers directly from supermarkets or shops in their communities to be emailed or printed and posted to families, and they will have their costs covered by the Department for Education. Guidance for schools will be published shortly.”

We will update you with further information about these arrangements as soon as we have them.

Exams cancelled for this summer

The government have announced that there will be no exams this summer for GCSE, A-level, etc. There is no further advice yet about what this means in practice but we will share it as soon as we receive it.

Whilst this does remove certain academic pressures, it is important that students do not give up on their studies. They will still need to be prepared for the next stage of their education. Therefore we are providing remote learning resources (further information is below).

I know that our students have been working hard towards these exams and that they may feel a mixture of relief but also disappointment. It is a very odd situation and it may feel confusing for them.

Remote Learning

Our teachers will be setting remote learning for all students. We have put together a curriculum plan for students for when the school is closed; this timetable details which subjects will be set to specific year groups on which day. All work will be signposted using ClassCharts, and may require students to return work via email, GCSEPod (KS4 students) or OneDrive. Please contact Mr Beeden if you require any support with accessing these systems: rbeeden@hopevalley.derbyshire.sch.uk

We realise that home learning creates pressures for you at home and, in due course, we will provide you with advice and tips about how best to manage this responsibility. We are all adapting to this new situation, but we are determined to support you throughout it.

But it’s also worth talking to them about this and checking in regularly about what they are doing online.

How will school keep track of vulnerable students?

There are a number of students who have additional support in College through either the SEN system or the pastoral system. We will endeavour to continue to support these students during the period of school closure. Students will be allocated a key member of staff who will keep in regular contact with the student and family via email to offer any additional support or advice. Some students identified may also receive a phone call every few days and some students may receive home visits, adhering to the government policy for social distancing.